NEWSLETTER August 2019

NEWSLETTER August 2019 Official Newsletter of the Austin Seven Register of Qld. Inc. (formed 1967) Our 46th Annual Static Display is a Success (Report & more Photos inside) President’s Report 2019 Maybe it’s just me, but 2019 seemed to whiz by in no time. A year ago, I was honoured to step into the role of Club President, a daunting task when you look at the people who have held the role over the previous 50 plus years. But as I suspected would be the case, the Committee and Club members worked hard to make sure I was fully supported. And so for me it’s been a fantastic year, and I’m hoping other members feel much the same. With 100 plus members in the Club and more joining at a steady clip, there’s 100 versions of what happened in 2019, but here’s mine: We started the new club-year with a Saturday run, followed by a static display at the Morningside School of Arts the following day. The new venue for our display proved to be an excellent choice with lots of room to park the cars, plenty of options for coffee, and no end of inquisitive locals wanting to know more about our cars. While we had a great selection of A7s on display, there was one that grabbed lots of attention and that was Stacy Curtis’s sports. It was no surprise that Stacy walked away with the People’s Choice Award, and I’m guessing Ted was chuffed with the result. From one display to another, in September we had a strong contingent attend the All British Day. Not long after that event, several members headed off for a weekend at Gatton and the LAMA rally. We had a great time, only spoilt by Doug dropping parts on the road and expecting those following to collect and deliver them to Gatton. Of course, this came after he dropped a wheel at the Club car park the month before. The end of 2019 had plenty going on: Tingalpa Pioneer Village, Brighton and Fort Lytton were all visited by A7s during various internal and external events. The Christmas Party moved to a new venue and, as expected, 1 it was a great success. It was uplifting to look around at the Party and see so many people catching up over a meal and a drink. It reinforced what a great club we are all part of. 2019 arrived and 26 of us attended the traditional New Year’s Breakfast. On the plus side, I remember that Alan was well behaved with only minimal flirting with the waitresses. On the downside, we said goodbye to Lindsay and Sharon who were leaving for a few years in Indonesia. Maybe my favourite memory of this month was taking a special guest out for morning tea at the Moore’s. I’d been contacted by a gentleman whose Canadian father drove an Austin from Townsville to Cairns in ’66 and he was back in Brisbane for a short visit. It felt great to give this adventurer another drive in an Austin. February and March came and went with two great runs, Valentine’s Day and the Librarian’s Run. The former was a happy run out to the park for morning tea, then on to the bay for fish and chips. The singular problem was that our rally organiser, Justin, had a brake pivot decide that it wanted to move out of its original home. No fear, with the help of Russell we got it patched up and going again. That’s one of the great things about our Club runs, there’s always someone there to help if things go awry. As expected, the Librarian’s Run was executed with all the simplistic beauty of the Dewey Decimal System - thanks Alan. The only thing wrong with having a cracking Librarian’s Run is that it puts pressure on the President to make sure his is up to scratch. Happy to report that we got through it okay, despite being caught in a Sunday morning gridlock on Roma Street! We were delighted that so many people could make the run and then enjoy a BBQ out at Fig Tree Pocket. When May arrived, it was time to descend on Bundaberg for the Bundy Bash. Too many highlights to mention here, but what must be said is that Ann and Brian Brindley run a great show. Like so many of our members, the Brindleys donated countless resources to make sure the rest of us had a trip to remember. A cameo appearance by Lindsay and some of our country members made for a memorable week. No members of the A7 Register will be representing Australia in lawn bowls at the 2020 Olympics. That was my observation after a few ends at the Camp Hills Bowls Club. We ended up there after a very enjoyable winter run. Lots of chatter and plenty of laughs as bowls went horribly off course. But if anyone is going to be a rep-player, they might have the last name of Potts, as those lads seemed to get the hang of it pretty quickly. So that’s my memory of the year, but what’s yours? Hopefully, like me, you’ve had a great time and can reflect on how lucky we are to be part of an active club. But it’s not luck that makes a club, it’s because of who is in it and what they do. We are blessed to have an active Committee who work tirelessly for the Club. It’s not by chance that all our meetings are minuted, our runs organised, our finances kept in check, newsletters prepared, website updated, and library maintained. Not to mention our spare parts - I doubt there is another club in Australia that has access to spares the way we do, for many clubs the spare parts are available only once a month! And so a big thanks from me to the Committee who get all these jobs done without fail. Membership for the period showed modest growth, with a net increase of around 5 members for the period. Attendance at our monthly meetings has been steady, with the average number of members being around 20, and on a few occasions we nudged 30. For many the tyranny of distance keeps them from attending, but for the Brisbane locals I’d strongly suggest you come along when you have the opportunity. The meetings are professional but always held in good humour, and everyone is welcome to participate as much or as little as they like. What’s more, there’s always a tasty supper after the formalities have been dealt with. How our Club performed financially over the period is a question that should always be asked. Full details are available in the Treasurer’s Report, but the highlights of the 2018/19 financial year are a modest increase in membership dues and a near 50% increase in the sale of parts. The Club has minimal liabilities and our bottom line shows a small increase in retained earnings to a very healthy $42,401 (more on this below). What does 2020 hold for the Austin Seven Register? For sure there’ll be lots more runs, weekends away and time spent with those we choose to be our motoring family. But there are a few things I believe will need to address in the new year. We have a healthy bank balance thanks to hard work over previous years. I’ve got some thoughts about future expenditure, but as a club we need to have some comprehensive discussions about this. Whatever expenditure we choose, we must ensure the club stays financially stable and any benefit should be felt by the wider club, not just by a certain region or type of member. On a more mundane note, we need to review our Constitution and ensure that we continue to operate in accordance with the guidelines set out in legislation. This is a function that the Committee has already turned their attention to, but at some point it will be up to all members to decided if changes are needed and if so, what they should be. 2 In closing, I’d like to thank all members for their support over the last year. In an age of Netflix and Face book when traditional clubs like ours might seem ‘old fashioned’, I’m proud to be part of the A7 Register, a club that supports its members, enjoys a laugh, a drive, and afterwards a social drink and a good meal. Steve Davidson - President Austin 7 Register of Qld. Inc A7 Register of Qld. AGM - 10th August 2019 Whilst the executive stepped down, Lindsay Jordan stepped in to run the AGM and Election of club officers for 2019/2020. The result was pretty predictable, except that we have Brett Reif as our new Vice- President as Duncan Logan had to step down due to a rather special work assignment. The results are as follows:- President: Steve Davidson 0418 814 501 Vice President: Brett Reif Secretary: Robyn Clark (07) 3800 1965 Treasurer: John Que (07) 3396 0882 Editor: Tim Braby 0405 740 418 Spares/Tech: Trevor Moore (07) 3848 5575 Second Hand Parts: Doug Clark (07) 3800 1965 Runs & Events Coordinator: Neil Thyer (07) 32179880 Webmaster: Neil Thyer (07) 32179880 Dating Officer (North side): Tim Braby 0405 740 418 Dating Officer (Southside): Trevor Moore (07) 3848 5575 Librarian: Alan Couser (07) 33499628 QHMC Representatives: Steve Davidson & Justin McKeering Raffle " Stinger": Valda McDowell The A7RQ Inc.

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